By: Andrew Felix
Texas country music started out with the
very first Texas cowboys during the times of the cattle drives. These cowboys made music about the tough
living and working conditions they faced every day. Most of the early Texas cowboys were
Hispanic, black, or Native American.
This brought a wide variety of instruments like the fiddle, mandolin,
and guitar into the south.
During the Great Depression, in the
1930s, “entertainers had to be able to perform a
broad array of musical styles that would appeal to a large and diverse
audience. The end result was a new type of music, known as "Texas
Swing" or "Western Swing," which introduced an astounding array
of musical influences into mainstream country music.” Famous country artists like Texas natives,
Bob Wills and Milton Brown did this by mixing their style of country with blues
and jazz.
Later in the 1970s, “Outlaw Country” was
born in Austin, Texas. Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were two of the main
country artists to start this “revolution” which helped create an even bigger
audience for country music.
The 1980s were very important for Texas
country music. One of the most popular country singers of all time, George
Strait, started out in this decade. “In 1981 Strait signed on with MCA Records and quickly
became a country superstar. With an emphasis on western swing and
back-to-basics honky-tonk, his long string of Number 1 hits, which
includes "Fool Hearted Memory," "Right or Wrong,"
"Amarillo By Morning," "Baby Blue," and "Does Fort
Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?," spawned legions of imitators and reawakened
an interest in more traditional-sounding country music.”
Today Texas country music is still
very popular in the south especially in towns like Austin, College Station,
Fort Worth, Luchenbach, and San Marcos.
Robert Earl Keen, Cory Morrow, Pat Green, and Randy Rogers are very well
known Texas country singers. Texas
country artists are known for putting on great performances and there are many
great dance halls and bars in Texas where you can see some of the best Texas
country music singers perform live.
Gary Hartman, "COUNTRY MUSIC," Handbook of Texas
Online. Texas State Historical Association. Web.
November 20, 2012.